Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Acquires 2,108 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,704 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Bank lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.21. 797,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,209,942. The stock has a market cap of $327.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $126.50 and its 200 day moving average is $116.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.